Oscar Fish Help

[Toiletcar]

With losing that much water, I’d check for leaks.
The Oscars could be freaking out for a few reasons:
1. The main being tank size. I found larger species often get spooked easily in smaller tanks. Think they feel more scure.
2. Another reason is could be it’s a bare tank. Not only is it easier for the Oscars to see their reflection, but fish feel more secure like they are in a more natural setting.
3. Water conditions. What are the water parameters? Often any spikes can cause fish to get skittish. Two Oscars even at that size cause a huge amount of waste. You would have to do more than one water change a week no matter what kind of filtration you have.
It could be all the above too. Anyway hope that helps.

 

[Ozip]

what do you exactly mean by freaking out?

when my Oscar was around that size, he would go into bulldozer mode every night around 9pm and try to smash everything in the tank. move driftwood and plants all over, spit gravel every where. it was actually pretty funny to watch.

if yours is doing something like this, then I would consider it normal.

also, if the behavior is only observed after lights out, I would dismiss the shock theory - unless you can pinpoint that they are only being shocked once the lights go off.

a 55 is too small a tank for 2 Oscars and a pike. just to maintain decent water quality your changes should be more like 3-4 times a week not one. if not don't be surprised when your Oscars gets hole in the head.

HTH, good luck.

Yea I had seen some post that it was normal for oscars to do this and my male does have a pimple below his mouth. Thanks for the advise.

 

[Ozip]

what do you exactly mean by freaking out?

when my Oscar was around that size, he would go into bulldozer mode every night around 9pm and try to smash everything in the tank. move driftwood and plants all over, spit gravel every where. it was actually pretty funny to watch.

if yours is doing something like this, then I would consider it normal.

also, if the behavior is only observed after lights out, I would dismiss the shock theory - unless you can pinpoint that they are only being shocked once the lights go off.

a 55 is too small a tank for 2 Oscars and a pike. just to maintain decent water quality your changes should be more like 3-4 times a week not one. if not don't be surprised when your Oscars gets hole in the head.

HTH, good luck.

Yea I had seen some post that it was normal for oscars to do this and my male does have a pimple below his mouth. Thanks for the advise.

 

[FreshyFresh]

Very common for oscars to freak out in certain lighting or lack of lighting situations. On all my tanks, including my oscar tank, there are at least one night light plugged into wall outlets within sight of the fish. This helps considerably IMO.

Ozip, I know you didn't ask about stocking, appropriate tank size, 90% weekly water changes, if not more often, but these are all issues you have. A 55g isn't great for even a single oscar by themselves and will often require more than one weekly water change to keep healthy water parameters, regardless of filtration you have.

 

[Ozip]

Very common for oscars to freak out in certain lighting or lack of lighting situations. On all my tanks, including my oscar tank, there are at least one night light plugged into wall outlets within sight of the fish. This helps considerably IMO.

Ozip, I know you didn't ask about stocking, appropriate tank size, 90% weekly water changes, if not more often, but these are all issues you have. A 55g isn't great for even a single oscar by themselves and will often require more than one weekly water change to keep healthy water parameters, regardless of filtration you have.

I already have a 200g with their name on it once they grow bigger. Trust me I started them out in a 30g. I am just slowing upgrading them as they grow.